Perth’s new apartment market recorded its strongest quarter of sales since Q4 2021, with 412 apartments sold in Q1 2026 and a record quarterly sold value of $537 million, according to Urbis’ latest Apartment Essentials results.

Urbis said the March quarter result reflects strong, highly product‑specific demand across both ends of the market, from more attainable projects delivering at scale, through to premium stock being absorbed by equity‑rich downsizers.&nbsp;

David Cresp, Partner at Urbis, said the key story in Perth is not demand, it is the market’s ability to convert demand into delivered housing.&nbsp;

“This is the strongest sales quarter since Q4 2021, and it reinforces that demand in Perth is real and it’s local,” David Cresp said. “But the task now is delivery, turning that demand into projects that can actually be built and completed.”&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110291 project_image_fid=302785]

<h2>Affordable product leads, premium demand remains resilient</h2>

Sales in Q1 were led by more affordable projects, with The Boulevard (SKS Group) recording 115 sales in the quarter, the presentation noting this is only the second time a single project has surpassed 100 quarterly sales. The project was able to offer more affordable housing product right next to a train station.&nbsp;

Palmyra West (Finbar) also delivered strong results with 28 sales in Q1, following 84 sales in Q4, with an average price of under $800,000, underscoring depth of demand for well‑located, attainable new stock.&nbsp;

At the premium end, Urbis said downsizer demand is continuing, with the results highlighting Romeo (Applecross, Finbar) recording 75 sales and reaching almost 50% sold in one quarter.

Jual (Shenton Park, Celsius Property) also posted a strong quarter with 28 sales, reaching 39% sold in one quarter.

Urbis noted that Perth apartment demand is not speculative, not investor‑led, and not uniform, describing it as localised, often equity‑driven and highly product‑specific, a pattern reflected in the polarisation between strong “attainable” performers and premium downsizer product.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=148957 project_image_fid=364102]

<h2>Prices underpinned by costs, and the delivery risk is growing</h2>

Urbis said pricing pressure is cost not demand‑driven: construction costs and delivery risk are now a central constraint, with the results noting build costs remain elevated and volatile, and that energy, fuel and labour uncertainty weigh on feasibility.

David Cresp said a growing challenge for private Build‑to‑Sell developers is simply securing a builder in the current environment.

“Developers are really feeling the pressure from a building market that was operating at capacity and securing a builder is challenging,” David Cresp said, adding that even where a builder can be secured, “trying to get to the price that makes the development financially viable is incredibly challenging in the current market.”&nbsp;

Urbis’ broader WA commentary also notes that industry remains at or above capacity with lot and housing creation, and that many builders are limiting new sales to manage stretched workforces and fixed‑price contract pressures, conditions that flow directly into apartment feasibility and delivery timing.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108869 project_image_fid=317905]

<h2>Supply: improving later, but still constrained, and Perth lags eastern benchmarks</h2>

While near‑term supply remains constrained, Urbis’ forecast shows completions lifting “Supply is forecast to be back above 1,500 apartments per annum for the first time since 2019”, with 1,775 completions forecast for 2026, and volumes remaining above that level over the following years.&nbsp;

Looking further ahead, completions are forecast to reach 2,500 in 2028, with the report noting 32% of that total is social/affordable, reflecting the role of government‑supported delivery in rebuilding the pipeline.&nbsp;

However, Urbis said Perth remains behind comparable markets on pipeline scale. In a national comparison of projects under construction, the report shows under construction Perth Build‑to‑Sell (BTS) at 3,446 apartments versus the Gold Coast at 7,922. Mr Cresp said “The challenge for Perth is how to we grow the delivery pipeline”.

Urbis’ conclusion is that Perth’s market is increasingly defined by product discipline and delivery certainty, with the research identifying “delivery certainty is key” and calling out builder risk and procurement models as core success factors, alongside “timing and staging”.&nbsp;

Joel Robinson

Perth apartment sales hit strongest pace since late 2021 as builder capacity tightens

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sammut-developments">Sammut Group</a> has secured development approval for its latest Brisbane apartment project, marking the Sydney developer’s next step in expanding its Queensland pipeline following the success of its debut Gold Coast development, Coast.

The approved project at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/44-glen-road-toowong-qld-4066">44 Glen Road, </a><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/toowong-qld-4066">Toowong</a> will deliver a 15-storey riverfront apartment building with 42 residences, significantly increasing the scale of the site’s previous approval for a smaller luxury scheme. Designed by Bureau^proberts, the development will comprise a mix of predominantly four-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments positioned to maximise Brisbane River and city views.

Sammut Director Julian Sammut said the group had been actively searching Brisbane for several years before identifying Toowong as the right fit.

“Brisbane was the right step for Sammut,” Sammut said.

“With the success of Coast we thought we should definitely look to do more in Queensland alone. We then pushed up to look at Brisbane. We've been looking for I'd say two to three years actually and it was hard to find the right location.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/f_auto,c_limit,w_1440,q_75/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/field/image/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.14%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=dYAVIL7qdcGA8ojvkslSrLjczXFejSSx" />

Sammut said suburbs including New Farm and Teneriffe were considered before the group ultimately focused on Toowong due to its strong downsizer demographic and limited supply of developable riverfront land.

The site was acquired off-market after what Sammut described as a lengthy negotiation and planning process, with the developer pursuing an uplift to the original approval.

“We are DA approved now which is very exciting,” Sammut said.

“We've had our change approval come through and we've obviously doubled the height, 15 storeys plus rooftop. We've got 42 amazing apartments that are going to be coming to market soon.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,dpr_2.0,q_auto:good/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.26%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=ohkRkY0dIZlqdfME2EZePsCQavRiBadE" />

Bureau^proberts said the design responds to Toowong’s evolving urban character, balancing contemporary apartment living with the area’s established residential identity.

“A place where traditional Queensland living has taken place for centuries; Toowong is seeing a shift of contemporary influence, commercial and retail hubs mixed with well-considered residential offerings – all the while maintaining its character and charm,” the architect noted in planning documents submitted to Brisbane City Council.

The architecture practice said the project’s form was shaped by its riverfront setting, flood considerations, neighbouring building scales, and view corridors.

“They said the mix of four and two-bedroom apartments capture the ‘fundamental qualities of Queenslander living,’ translated into the context of a contemporary subtropical building.”

The development sits just off Coronation Drive within walking distance of Toowong’s retail precinct and the upgraded Regatta ferry terminal, while also benefiting from proximity to the incoming green bridge connection to West End. Sammut said the accessibility and amenity offering were central to the site’s appeal.

The approval adds to growing residential activity along the Toowong riverfront, joining nearby projects including Consolidated Properties’ Monarch Residences and Spyre Group’s ARC Residences.

Sammut secures approval for debut Brisbane apartment development in Toowong

Developer Lanevick is heading back into Sydney’s apartment market after focusing more heavily on the luxury townhouse and terrace sector in recent years.

Lanevick, founded and directed by Steve Maroun, is expecting to receive approval in the coming months for a new apartment development in Gladesville, with the aim to launch it to the market later this year.

The 51-apartment project, designed by Studio Johnston, will comprise a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments positioned toward the Hunters Hill downsizer market.

“Traditionally it’s been difficult for people in that market to downsize because there just hasn’t been the right product available,” Maroun said.

“We’re targeting buyers who might have 30 to 40 per cent of their house value sitting in the bank after downsizing.

“They still want good spacious entertaining areas, they still want quality design, but they also want flexibility and the ability to enjoy life a bit more after working hard for a long time.”

The project sits near Boronia Park and within close proximity to the Parramatta River foreshore, an area Maroun says offers more of a Hunters Hill lifestyle than a traditional apartment precinct.

“From a lifestyle perspective, it’s really more Hunters Hill than Gladesville,” Maroun said. “You’re close to the foreshore, close to parklands, and still connected back into the village precinct.”

From level four and above, apartments will capture water views&nbsp;toward Sydney Harbour. Communal amenity will include rooftop entertaining areas, wellness spaces, and a gym tailored toward owner-occupier buyers.

“We’ve really designed these apartments around that buyer coming from the Hunters Hill LGA and what they’re actually looking for in their next chapter.”

The proposed development has also been designed to respond to the changing character of the broader Gladesville town centre, where a growing number of mixed-use and residential proposals are expected to emerge over the coming years.

“Gladesville presented a rare opportunity to deliver a genuinely design-led residential project within an evolving lifestyle precinct, just moments from the growing Gladesville town centre, and we’ve approached the project with a strong focus on architecture, liveability and long-term community value,” Maroun said.

Maroun said Lanevick saw a first-mover advantage within the precinct as planning controls continue to evolve to accommodate greater housing density.

“We think there’s a real opportunity there that hasn’t really been serviced properly yet,” he said.

“There’s going to be a broader evolution of the whole Gladesville village precinct over time, particularly with more activation and mixed-use outcomes.”

The Venus Street proposal will include a commercial and retail component at ground level designed to contribute to that evolving streetscape activation.

“A big part of the thinking was how do you activate that area properly and create more vibrancy and amenity, which is what Hunters Hill has been looking for,” Maroun said.

Lanevick’s focus since 2020 has largely been on smaller-scale luxury townhouse and terrace developments. The developer recently completed Royale Randwick, also designed by Studio Johnston, where prices reached $3.65 million. The project was featured in the UDIA NSW 2026 Professional Development Prospectus and was also named a finalist for Development of the Year.

&nbsp;

Lanevick to cater for Hunters Hill downsizers with new Gladesville apartment development

Property developer One Living, backed by former Macquarie banker turned investment manager Chris Green’s investment firm, has unveiled plans to bring more institutional capital into housing to help address the national supply crisis.

The New York-based investor has focused his firm, GreenPoint Partners, on addressing the supply shortage hitting middle market housing in Australia.

It is backing the new One Living business to develop more than 1000 units along the eastern seaboard. The new firm is starting with a development on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with around 140 apartments planned. They are eyeing off more sites across the city.

With cost pressures rising in the industry, One Living’s model is to be a vertically integrated developer-builder, so it can respond directly to the housing gap by removing the cost inefficiencies embedded in traditional residential delivery.

“We are building a platform designed to operate at scale and starting in a market where there’s a clear need for quality, attainable housing,” One Living joint managing director Joseph Scuderi said.

“It’s that missing middle – it’s that attainable end of housing… that’s what most Australians invest into and what Australians can actually afford.”

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="798dfa93-4941-4db6-a696-31e9dc18e81c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.31.50%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=mKBqi5C_DmeiXS.AtJkcR8LQIxqCqmFi" />

GreenPoint Partners brings years of experience assembling and scaling real estate operating businesses across major markets. And Green sees a big opportunity in Australia.

“For its size, sophistication and importance to the community, Australia’s living sector has remained largely under-institutionalised, which represents significant opportunity,” Green said. “GreenPoint identified that gap, assembled the right team, and is backing One Living to build a platform that is aligned to market needs.”

Green said being a builder-developer would give the company the capacity and flexibility it required to deliver reasonably-priced homes.

“We want it to be at that attainable level; not super high end luxury but at that attainable level,” he said.

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74a5344a-4b26-4d4a-ada3-056b1220be77" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.32.15%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=vY8hXHO4reBMdO8ZXMWCNtGZJofUPQ3j" />

&nbsp;

One Living will undertake a component of affordable housing in its schemes, which it will own and operate, and it could also run build-to-rent on some sites.

Green praised local policy settings.

“The NSW government is being very supportive, strategic and pragmatic in terms of how do we generate more supply of housing,” he said. “We think it’s actually positive for development and the bit that’s been lacking at that attainable level is that it’s lots of relatively small private developers, whereas we want to create an institutional platform.”

One Living is also&nbsp;looking at high-density projects and could take on more institutional funding in the future.

“The way we will be able to achieve economies of scale is through size,” Green added.

One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition

It's been several years since there's been an opportunity to buy a brand new townhome in Melbourne's coastal suburb of Mordialloc. Even apartment developments in recent times have been few and far between in the area.

Local developer LDS Property identified the gap in new housing, securing a site on White Street, directly opposite&nbsp;Woodlands Golf Club Mordialloc. They've recently launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/wm-residences-mordialloc-102-white-street-mordialloc-vic-3195">WM Residences</a>, just 13 townhouses which they have already started building.

Projects by Buxton Director Heath Thompson, who is selling WM Residences, says the townhouses x that perfect middle ground be

"Mordialloc residents have had limited options to downsize within the suburb, often forcing them to look elsewhere despite long-standing ties to the area," Thompson says.

"With very little comparable new supply coming to market, projects like WM Residences are well placed, particularly as buyers look to capitalise on current conditions amid constrained supply."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6109]

The development, designed by regarded architecture firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ewert-leaf">Ewert Leaf</a>,&nbsp;adopts a deliberately restrained architectural approach, focusing on simplicity, durability and liveability rather than overt design gestures.

The boutique scale is central to the offering. With only 13 three-bedroom residences, each home is configured to prioritise functional layouts and everyday use, supported by private terraces and secure two-car garages.

Ewert Leaf’s design response leans into a calm, neutral material palette. Interiors are defined by oak flooring, white walls and soft finishes, creating a consistent and understated backdrop. The approach avoids trend-driven detailing in favour of longevity, with an emphasis on natural light and spatial clarity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6110]

Beyond aesthetics, the homes are designed to meet contemporary performance expectations. Each residence targets a minimum 6-star energy rating, incorporating double glazing, comprehensive insulation and all-electric Bosch appliances.

The project’s location supports a walkable coastal lifestyle, sitting within close proximity to Mordialloc’s foreshore, Main Street retail strip and the train station. Local cafés and dining venues, including Suburbia Deli and Hendriks Café, are within a short walk, reinforcing the area’s established neighbourhood character.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6116]

While <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/mordialloc-vic-3195">Mordialloc</a> is often defined by its beach and pier, the project taps into other areas of day to day living, offering easy access to local food, casual dining and transport, rather than positioning itself purely as a lifestyle retreat.

WM Residences reflects a continued trend across Melbourne’s coastal suburbs towards smaller-scale, design-led townhouse developments, particularly on infill sites where proximity to amenity is already established.

With construction commenced prior to its market entry, the project aligns with a growing preference among buyers for developments with visible progress and defined delivery timeframes.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134646]

WM Residences fills gap in Mordialloc townhouse market

Real Estate

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Bayleys, New Zealand’s leading commercial and industrial real estate agency, has re-signed its affiliate status with commercial real estate firm Cushman &amp; Wakefield. 
Bayleys Real Estate managing director Mike Bayley said the branding partnership with Cushman &amp; Wakefield was a winning ‘two-way’ street for both businesses. 
Bayleys is the largest privately owned real estate company in New Zealand with more than 1800 staff, which combined with Cushman &amp; Wakefield’s global reach and 45,000 employees around the world would provide its clients with more access to commercial real estate markets around the world
The joint reach of Bayleys and Cushman &amp; Wakefield in New Zealand would have 4,480 properties under management, totaling 7.8 million sqm. It will have a $2.3 billion commercial property portfolio across 83 offices and 2,000 employees.
“Real estate is essentially about who you know. Being part of Cushman &amp; Wakefield’s global alliance means a lot more potential buyers and tenants around the world can be introduced to the New Zealand property market by their trusted local real estate professional.... be they in Beijing, Sydney, Mumbai, London, Paris, or New York,” Bayley added.
Cushman &amp; Wakefield’s New Zealand integrated facilities management managing director, Paul Amato, said the company’s 71-year old business in the country was founded in facilities management, project management and trades services to both the corporate sector and major government departments.
“Our specialist knowledge of engineering, maintenance, sustainability and asset management is something that we can offer to Bayleys’ client base,” said Amato.
Bayley said the agency’s full-service product suite – encompassing sales and leasing, valuations, property management, and property operations advisory resources - also dove-tailed into the requirements of Cushman &amp; Wakefield’s international customers looking for representation in New Zealand. 
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jonathanchancellor-7SQnKwU6yx

NZ real estate agency Bayleys and Cushman & Wakefield extend partnership 

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GUEST OBSERVER
As a nation, Australians are fascinated with residential real estate.
Today, you cannot open a newspaper, turn on the radio, watch television, or even have a chat with a friend without the subject of residential real estate coming up. 
Of course, when you consider that real estate is the nation’s number one asset class, this is hardly surprising. 
Everyone has an opinion when it comes to real estate. Most recently, we have heard a number of people argue that lenders and mortgage brokers are encouraging borrowers to take out loans they cannot afford, putting them in housing stress. 
I don’t want to contribute further opinion to this topic. Instead, I want to lay down some facts and figures that will hopefully go a long way to painting the true story. 
Residential real estate, like any commodity, is driven by a few key fundamentals, including supply and demand, the cost of credit, employment and access to credit. 
Access to credit, or the amount of money an individual can borrow, will determine what they can and will pay for a property. In recent times, there has been a lot of discussion about the high debt levels in Australia and the purported inappropriate lending practices undertaken by Australia’s lenders and mortgage brokers. 
While we do have high levels of debt in Australia, data from CoreLogic shows the proportion of income needed to service current household debt is actually lower now than it was in 2011. 
In 2011, the proportion of household income required to service an 80% LVR mortgage across the combined capital cities was 43.92%. By 2016, that percentage had dropped to 35.02% thanks, in part, to historically low interest rates.  
So while property is certainly expensive and the level of household debt is high, it would seem many Australians are actually in a better position now than they were five years ago.  
Moreover, lending practices are constantly improving. Borrowers aren’t being forced into higher loans, they are simply choosing to borrow more in order to purchase their desired asset. 
The banking industry is highly regulated and both brokers and lenders are more scrupulous than ever.
20 years ago, a home loan application was a single sheet of paper and the level of data that was collected by a lender was scant. 
Only 10 years ago, approximately 50% of all home loan applications in Australia required borrowers to certify their income and their asset position. These loans, commonly referred to as low-doc or no-doc loans, were very popular within Australia. 
When you contrast these lending practices with what we have today, it is fair to say things have come a long way. 
Today, new legislation requires brokers and lenders to forensically examine a borrower’s assets and liability situation. They are also required to verify a borrower’s employment through documentation as well as telephone checks and discussions with employers. At the end of the day, nobody - lender or mortgage broker - wants a consumer to be in a situation where they access credit they can't afford. 
At Mortgage Choice, the vast majority of our customers are more than nine months in front of their mortgage repayments. They are overpaying their mortgage in a bid to quickly and efficiently reduce their level of debt. 
 Looking ahead, brokers and lenders will continue to do the right thing by their customers, helping them into loans they can afford and helping them to get their foot onto the property ladder.   
I believe property prices will continue to rise across most markets. However, the rate of growth may be more moderate than what we have seen in the past. I do not think mortgage holders are at risk of losing their property. I believe Australia’s lenders and mortgage brokers do all they can to ensure borrowers are in the right product for their needs and long will this tradition continue.
John Flavell is chief executive officer <a href="https://www.mortgagechoice.com.au/" target="_blank">Mortgage Choice</a>.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

The industry has never been healthier: John Flavell

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One of the most consistent linkages in real estate is that the cities with the tightest vacancies are the ones showing the best rental growth.
This, of course, is no great surprise but real estate data often makes no sense. This is one instance where it does.
The figures on rentals and vacancies are among the most consistent in the real estate research field - and it’s an area where competing research sources generally agree with one another, a lot more often than they do on median prices and the level of price growth.
Domain and SQM Research, for example, have comparable figures on vacancy rates in each of the capital cities and also on rental growth.
The two sources broadly agree that the tightest rental markets are found in Hobart (vacancies around 0.5%), Canberra (1.2%) and Melbourne (1.5%).
The highest vacancy rates are in Perth (4% to 5%), and in Brisbane and Darwin (both around 3%).
The respective vacancy situations correlate closely with annual growth in house rentals.
SQM Research says Hobart house rents have grown 8% in the past year, while both sources record 6-7% growth in Canberra and around 5% in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, the city with the highest vacancies, Perth, has the worst rental performance: SQM says house rents have dropped almost 6% in the past year while Domain records a decrease of more than 7%.
Darwin house rents have dropped 5.5%, according to both sources, while both say Brisbane rents are unchanged.
In most of the major cities, vacancy rates are higher for apartments than they are for houses - and this, too, is reflected in rental performance.
Both Domain and SQM record double-digit growth for apartment rents in Hobart and around 5% increases in Canberra and Melbourne.
In Brisbane, where inner-city oversupply is a growing issue, apartment rents are down about 1% overall.
In Perth, where vacancy rates generally are high but especially in the inner-city unit markets, apartment rents have fallen 7% (SQM) or 10% (Domain).
In Darwin, where unit oversupply has been an issue as well, apartment rents are down 8-9% in annual terms.
The overall impression from all the figures is that rents have not matched prices in growth performance, which has resulted in rental yields contracting in most cities.
The only city with a gross rental yield for houses above 5% is Hobart, which sits at 5.4% according to Domain. 
Terry Ryder is the founder of <a href="https://www.hotspotting.com.au/" target="_blank">hotspotting.com.au</a>. You can <a href="mailto:%20%3Cscript%20type='text/javascript'%3E%20%3C!--%20var%20prefix%20=%20'ma'%20+%20'il'%20+%20'to';%20var%20path%20=%20'hr'%20+%20'ef'%20+%20'=';%20var%20addy38821%20=%20'ryder'%20+%20'@';%20addy38821%20=%20addy38821%20+%20'hotspotting'%20+%20'.'%20+%20'com'%20+%20'.'%20+%20'au';%20document.write('%3Ca%20'%20+%20path%20+%20'/''%20+%20prefix%20+%20':'%20+%20addy38821%20+%20'/'%3E');%20document.write(addy38821);%20document.write('%3C//a%3E');%20//--%3E/n%20%3C/script%3E%3Cscript%20type='text/javascript'" target="_blank">email him</a> or follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/hotspotting" target="_blank">Twitter.</a>
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terryryder-YECXbqmri2

Tightest rental markets in Hobart, Canberra and Melbourne: Terry Ryder

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A Melbourne real estate agent has lost her licence but avoided jail after being convicted of fraud.
Stephanie Joyce Brown, 43, forged the signatures of tenants on bond claim forms and then directed payments of more than $33,000 to her own bank accounts.
Brown’s offending took place between February and June 2016, when she was working as a property manager at Wilson Agents in Melbourne.
The alarm was first raised by the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority, who alerted police.
Ms Brown pleaded guilty to 23 charges of obtaining property by deception and was placed on a two-year good behaviour bond.
Her estate agent’s licence was cancelled following the conviction.
“Under Victorian estate agent laws, certain offences that carry possible jail terms of three months or more disqualify a person from working as an estate agent,” Consumer Affairs Victoria said in a statement.
“Fraud is a disqualifying offence.”
Ms Brown, formerly Stephanie Naylor, had previously worked for several established real estate agencies in Melbourne.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Melbourne estate agent's fraud conviction 

<html><body><div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
The residential real estate sector recorded its first revenue fall in five years in the recent financial year.
As estate agents battled low listing volumes in a low commission environment, researchers IBISWorld estimated total fees earned by real estate agents fell by $83.5 million or 0.7 per cent in FY17 to $12.46 billion.
The past financial year also saw the emergence in Australia of low-cost operators, along with the consolidation of lead generating websites which take a share of their commission.
"Rising competition and the digitisation of real estate services are likely to depress profit margins slightly over the next five years and challenge traditional operators," said IBISWorld.
"Digital platforms could undermine the industry's services as they represent a low-cost substitute, although this technology is also becoming a core component of a real estate agent's arsenal."
However, IBISWorld forecast industry employment to rise over the next five years, "with many operators opting to employ additional staff with greater expertise in an attempt to win customers amid rising competition".
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Estate agents took home less in last financial year: IBISWorld

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Of the many personality types who inhabit the real estate investment, the least enlightened are the ones I call the real estate snobs.
These are the people who won’t consider investing in an area they personally would not choose to live in. Their objections are usually couched in these terms: “What person in their right mind would want to live there?”
This kind of attitude invariably is directed at a downmarket area, perhaps stigmatized by a bad reputation for social issues or above-average crime rates. They’re places with plenty of housing that fits the “ugly real estate” tag.
But I’ve found in my 30-plus years researching and writing about real estate that ugly real estate grows in value quite nicely, so long as it sits in an area that fulfils certain criteria.
We might all aspire to live in Toorak or Woollahra but the reality is that 99 percent of Australians can’t afford those places. People buy where they can afford the house prices and if the area offers basics like shops, schools and public transport, there will be no shortage of demand from home-buyers and tenants.
One of the most enduring formulas for capital growth is affordability + jobs nodes + infrastructure. So ugly or not, downmarket or not, and regardless of the attitude of the real estate snobs, locations with these qualities deliver solid capital growth.
Recently, amid the strong market in Melbourne, few locations have delivered better capital growth than the precinct based around the stigmatized suburb of Sunshine. Right now, the locations with the most active markets in the Melbourne metropolitan area are the outer-ring areas where homes are affordable.
That brings me to the Brisbane suburban area of Inala, which arguably carries more heavy stigma that anywhere else in the Queensland capital. Just the word Inala evokes all kinds of negative thoughts and reactions.
The Inala precinct has long been branded as a downmarket area with lots of problems - but the market right now is busy because its offers affordability. And Inala and neighbours like Durack and Richlands have recorded annual price growth in the 10-13% range recently.
Inala is, in fact, well-placed to be a strong real estate performer. It is well-located, has good transport links and sits in an area with good services, including education, health and shopping facilities.
The billion-dollar evolution of new suburbs in the general vicinity, including two major master-planned communities, is creating infrastructure, services and jobs within striking distance of the Inala precinct.
Inala’s greatest strength is its affordable housing options. It is an established suburban area amid new development, therefore offering cheaper alternatives to the new product. It also offers a good range of amenities - lots of schools, parks, golf course, good road connections, a train station at Richlands and the Inala Town Centre.
The Inala precinct is well located between Ipswich and the Brisbane CBD. It is nestled at the gateway of the new communities of Springfield and Ripley Valley. Inala connects to Springfield via the Centenary Highway and the new Springfield metropolitan train line which has stations at Darra, Richlands, Springfield and Springfield Central stations.
Inala began as a community of affordable housing for ex-servicemen after WWII, evolving into a Housing Commission area. This led to its downmarket image which has been compounded by high unemployment and crime rates. Data from the 2011 Census indicates a low percentage of students completed year 12.
These negatives have not prevented the local property market from rising, partly because the area has good services and amenities.
The Inala Town Centre is made up of a plethora of medical centres, business services and supermarkets catering for a diverse range of residents. Richlands Plaza is relatively new and there are several large shopping centres in nearby Redbank, including Redbank Plaza which  houses Coles, Target, Supa IGA, Kmart, Aldi, an 8-screen cinema and 110 specialty stores.
Schools in the immediate area include Richlands East Primary School, Serviceton South Primary School, St Marks Primary School, Inala Primary School, Durack State School, Glenala High School and Western Suburbs Special School. Inala also has a TAFE campus. Springfield’s Education City provides plenty of tertiary options from a variety of providers including the University of Southern Queensland.
The great appeal of the Inala precint is affordability. From 2008–2010, median prices were about $300,000 according to realestate.com.au. In the next three years prices fell before starting a steady rise in 2014.
Data from CoreLogic suggests the median house price in Inala is now $350,000 based on 174 annual sales. This follows a 10% increase in the last 12 months. There have been similar rises in Durack and Richlands.
The long-term growth rate, i.e. the average annual growth in median house prices over the past 10 years, is a steady 6% per year.
Another strength is the low vacancy rate for postcode 4077 (Durack, Inala and Richlands) which is 1.7% and has been below 3% for five years.
Inala has good transport links to employment hubs in Springfield, Ipswich and inner Brisbane. The  $200 million Springfield Health City and the $350 million Metroplex Westgate project at Wacol are examples. The 60ha Wacol Army Barracks will be converted into a mixed-use commercial development.
Work on improving connectivity between Ipswich and Brisbane has been ongoing for numerous years. The latest project involves a $400 million upgrade of the Ipswich Motorway.
So there are plenty of reasons for those on a budget to disregard the gossip and consider the Inala precinct as a good place to live.
Terry Ryder is the founder of <a href="https://www.hotspotting.com.au/" target="_blank">hotspotting.com.au</a>. You can <a href="mailto:%20%3Cscript%20type='text/javascript'%3E%20%3C!--%20var%20prefix%20=%20'ma'%20+%20'il'%20+%20'to';%20var%20path%20=%20'hr'%20+%20'ef'%20+%20'=';%20var%20addy38821%20=%20'ryder'%20+%20'@';%20addy38821%20=%20addy38821%20+%20'hotspotting'%20+%20'.'%20+%20'com'%20+%20'.'%20+%20'au';%20document.write('%3Ca%20'%20+%20path%20+%20'/''%20+%20prefix%20+%20':'%20+%20addy38821%20+%20'/'%3E');%20document.write(addy38821);%20document.write('%3C//a%3E');%20//--%3E/n%20%3C/script%3E%3Cscript%20type='text/javascript'" target="_blank">email him</a> or follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/hotspotting" target="_blank">Twitter.</a>
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Ugly real estate is worth investment, even for real estate snobs 

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There’s a pattern with dwelling prices in Australian cities and in simple terms it’s this: the bigger the city, the more expensive the real estate.
Sydney is more expensive than Melbourne, which is pricier than Brisbane, which outranks Perth, which is dearer than Adelaide, which has higher prices than Hobart. The benchmark I’m using is the median house price.
But there’s one city that doesn’t adhere to the pattern and it’s Canberra. Canberra is a small and relatively insignificant place in terms of its population and economy – but it has some of the nation’s most expensive real estate.
Canberra’s median dwelling price (around $600,000, according to CoreLogic) is much higher than the medians for Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide – and not a lot behind Melbourne’s $660,000.
There are multiple reasons why this is the case. As a government town, Canberra tends to have low unemployment and high average incomes – and that has an influence on real estate values.
But the biggest single reason – and one that speaks to the core of the housing affordability debate nationwide – is the control exercised by the ACT Government.
I strongly believe that the nub of affordability issues – and the source of the most workable solutions to the issues where they exist – is the high cost of producing new dwellings in Australia. The costs are unnecessarily high because all three levels of government mercilessly milk the housing industry cash cow, thereby adding hugely to the cost of creating dwellings. The biggest villains are state and territory governments.
This is the case everywhere in Australia – notably in Sydney where the median price for residential land is double that of Melbourne – but the ACT Government takes ripping off the real estate process to a whole new level.
It controls land supply to the nth degree, drip-feeding new allotments to the market in a way that guarantees demand will always exceed supply many times over, thereby keeping prices high and maximizing government revenue. The industry complains bitterly about it, the Government denies it, and nothing ever changes.
But the ACT Government keeps finding new and interesting ways to squeeze ever more revenue out of the housing construction industry in Canberra – and with each new measure the cost of dwelling creation rises and affordability deteriorates. One of its more cynical moves was to announce it was phasing out stamp duty – and then massively increased rates to compensate.
So it was unsurprising to read that the ACT Government has just come up an innovative new method of ripping more taxes out of the dwelling creation process.
It’s a new $30,000-per-unit development tax, which developers say will make it uneconomic to turn residential blocks into townhouses and units - and will destroy infill development.
They also accuse the ACT Government of attempting to maximise revenue by making its own land in the Northbourne corridor, the Fluffy blocks and new suburbs the only land viable for redevelopment. If they’re right with this accusation, it would continue a persistent theme in the ACT.
At the moment, if builders buy a house block in a suburb such as Dickson or Turner - or any suburbs built before 1971 - to convert to units, they face a "strata tile" charge of $7500 a unit for the first three units and $5000 a unit after that.
But under a new tax lurking in the small print of the June Budget, the charge is hiked to $30,000 a unit. For a six-unit development, that pushes the total bill from $37,500 to $180,000. It’s a massive tax rise by any measure. 
There has been understandable outcry from the Master Builders Association and the Property Council. But the people who should be shouting the loudest are home-buyers because the underlying costs that affect property values in Canberra just got higher.
Unlike Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide or Hobart, Canberra doesn’t have a single suburb with a median house price below $400,000. Charnwood is the cheapest at $420,000 and the ACT Government is the primary culprit – not the scapegoats that everyone seems to prefer like foreign buyers or negatively-geared investors. It's the greedy, idiotic territory government.
The Canberra Times reported: “The development industry says the change will capture at least 95% of residential redevelopment in the older suburbs … and will benefit the government's land profits and help it sell the over-supply of Fluffy blocks by making it impossible for other landowners to compete with the government land. Government land will not attract the charge because it doesn't involve a lease variation.”
It also reported: “Independent Property group director of project planning David Shearer said it was a radical policy change that targeted home-owners, was ‘a very effective way to tax the family home’, with owners already bearing the brunt of huge rates increases, and would bring development to ‘a screaming halt’. And he accused the government of ‘an incredibly arrogant’ lack of warning or consultation.”
He’s probably right, judging by the ACT Government’s track record on these issues.
In a statement, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said lease variation charges were an "economically robust taxation mechanism which ensures the community shares in the unearned windfall gain developers receive from changes to a lease that substantially increase the value of the land".
It’s a typically cheap and nasty political tactic – slug developers on the basis that everyone sees them as greedy rich bastards and hope that no one figures out the people who will really pay are the end-users – the buyers of dwellings, such as first home buyers.
 
Terry Ryder is the founder of <a href="https://www.hotspotting.com.au/" target="_blank">hotspotting.com.au</a>. You can <a href="mailto:%20%3Cscript%20type='text/javascript'%3E%20%3C!--%20var%20prefix%20=%20'ma'%20+%20'il'%20+%20'to';%20var%20path%20=%20'hr'%20+%20'ef'%20+%20'=';%20var%20addy38821%20=%20'ryder'%20+%20'@';%20addy38821%20=%20addy38821%20+%20'hotspotting'%20+%20'.'%20+%20'com'%20+%20'.'%20+%20'au';%20document.write('%3Ca%20'%20+%20path%20+%20'/''%20+%20prefix%20+%20':'%20+%20addy38821%20+%20'/'%3E');%20document.write(addy38821);%20document.write('%3C//a%3E');%20//--%3E/n%20%3C/script%3E%3Cscript%20type='text/javascript'" target="_blank">email him</a> or follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/hotspotting" target="_blank">Twitter.</a>
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The bigger the city, the more expensive the real estate: Terry Ryder 

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Two of India's online real estate service providers are merging with REA Group investing some US$50 million in the new company.
Once merged, the two portals, PropTiger.com and Housing.com, will become the only player in India offering the full range of online and offline real estate services.
PropTiger is the largest online residential real estate brokerage firm, with Housing.com an online platform for buying and selling homes.
News Corp remains the largest shareholder of PropTiger, and also owns 61.6 percent of REA Group. Representatives of REA and Softbank will join the board of the joint entity, which will continue to be chaired by a News Corp representative.
The board will include Henry Ruiz, chief digital officer, REA Group, Simon Barnett, sales director, News Corp and Jonathan Bullock, managing director, Softbank Group International will join Raju Narisetti (chair), Ravi Adusumalli from SAIF Partners and Prashanth Prakash from Accel Partners as investor directors on the board of the joint entity. 
Dhruv Agarwala, co-founder and CEO of PropTiger, will serve as CEO of the joint entity. Jason Kothari, CEO of Housing.com will move on.
Tracy Fellows, REA Group chief executive officer said India is an important part of their international growth strategy.
"We believe in the potential of the Indian real estate market. REA invests in companies that are leaders in their markets. The joint entity will have access to REA Group’s expertise and know-how from its operations across the globe,” she said.
Robert Thomson, News Corp chief executive said with 1.2 billion people and a rapidly growing economy and middle class, India’s future as a real estate powerhouse is exceptionally bright.
"Clearly there is a compelling commercial purpose to the deal, but we also firmly believe in providing transparency, analysis and insight so that all Indian families, regardless of traditional background or means, will have a better understanding of the property market,” he said.
Jonathan Bullock, managing director, Softbank Group International said PropTiger has already created a great transaction engine.
An affiliate of Softbank Group Corp is investing US$5 million. 
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REA Group invest US$50 million in Indian property portal

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ASX-listed 360 Capital Group is set to sell its real estate funds management platform to Centuria Capital Group.
Both companies' shares went into a trading halt this morning, ahead of an announcement.
A deal is expected to be announced before the end of the week.  
Centuria Capital is expected to tap equity markets to fund the transaction which was hanging in the balance on the back of recent market volatility. 
Centuria and 360 Capital have been in takeover talks, as exclusively revealed by The Australian's DataRoom column last week, in a deal which will involve Centuria raising about $250 million in cash for the transaction through advisory firm Moelis.
360 Capital is a rival real estate group founded by former Mirvac Group executive Tony Pitt.
Both own retail, offices and industrial properties.
 
Centuria made a $300 million bid earlier this year for the GPT spin-off through, but South Africa-based Growthpoint Properties Australia trumped its offer.
 
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Trading halt for Centuria and 360 Capital

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/63187/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
China has a debt problem. But research shows that it’s not the industrial sector or state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to blame but the booming private property market.
The global financial crisis illustrated how debt problems in one part of the world (in this case the US and Western Europe) could have widespread negative consequences. As China is now the world’s top goods trader, second largest economy and third biggest credit nation, a debt meltdown there would have harmful effects well beyond its borders. 
The latest data from the Bank of International Settlements shows that since 2008 China has been responsible for nearly one in two dollars of new borrowing globally. China’s debt has reached 254.9% of GDP, up from 147% at the end of 2008. That’s even higher than in the US, where per-capita incomes are nearly four times greater. 
Two-thirds of China’s debt is accounted for by corporates, while the remainder is in the hands of governments and households. Many commentators blame inefficient and loss-making SOEs for the problem, particularly those in the construction sector and areas of industrial overcapacity such as steel. 
Recent research using survey data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics confirms businesses in steel, coal and electricity have indeed got increased debt levels, relative to their own equity and assets. But when expressed as a proportion of GDP this increase has been small and mostly offset by firms in other parts of the industrial sector with falling debt levels. 
Relative to GDP, between 2008-2015 the debt of industrial firms rose by just 4.4 percentage points, while those in construction increased by 7.0 percentage points. Towering above both was businesses in the real estate sector, where debt leapt by 29 percentage points. 
So while it might be true to say that construction and an over-producing industrial sector are contributing to China’s debt problem, they aren’t the main drivers.
How real estate and private firms are driving debt in China
A recent chapter by economists at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) looked at data from Chinese listed companies and came to similar conclusions. 
Industrial firms (manufacturing, utilities and mining) subtracted from rising overall debt levels from 2008-2015. 
Between 2008-12 it was construction firms that were mostly responsible. Since then it has been businesses in real estate. 
In terms of how debt is held between state and private firms, survey data shows within the debt-laden real estate sector, private developers have been increasing their debt levels, while those of state developers have been falling. 
Across all sectors, state-owned or controlled businesses accounted for three-quarters of the increase in overall debt levels between 2008-2012, evidence from listed companies reveals. But since then these businesses have actually subtracted from rising debt levels, leaving private firms entirely responsible. 
What China’s government can do about it
China’s overall debt trajectory is unsustainable. Research from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) finds that very few countries have experienced a similar rapid build up of debt and escaped without an eventual bust. 
The question for the country is how to reduce the reliance of corporations on borrowing while still maintaining a robust rate of economic growth. 
If state banks throwing good money after bad at SOEs in construction, coal, steel and so on is the problem, then the policy prescription is clear. 
In August, deputy managing director at the IMF, David Lipton argued: 
“To tackle the problem, the Chinese government must, in the words of Premier Li Keqiang, "ruthlessly bring down the knife [on] zombie enterprises”,…It is especially important to restructure SOEs. Many are essentially on life support.“
SOE reform is undoubtedly valuable but alone is unlikely to solve the problem. This is because the big driver, particularly in recent years, appears to be increasingly speculative behaviour by those in the real estate market. 
On the supply side, this has often involved private developers, albeit sometimes with minority state shareholders, while the demand side is comprised of households. The fact that the private sector looms large in China’s debt in some ways makes the problem more complicated to deal with. 
Direct administrative measures such as forcing a merger between a weak state firm and a stronger one may not be possible with private sector players because the government does not own or control these companies. 
At the same time, the unemployment created by the collapse of a large private company would not be attractive for a government obsessed with social stability either. 
Adding further complexity for China’s regulators is that sometimes households do not buy real estate assets directly but instead do so via financially engineered wealth management products, sold by financial institutions. 
The growing importance of mortgage lending in China also creates a potentially destructive link between any problems in the housing market and the stability of the financial system more generally. 
When house prices began to fall in the US in 2006, banks were left with massive bad debts as households defaulted on their mortgages. That said, downpayment requirements in China tend to be high relative to other countries, providing banks with some degree of protection. 
In weighing up China’s debt outlook, another positive consideration is that the household debt to GDP ratio in China is only 40.7%, compared with 78.4% in the US and a whopping 125.2% in Australia. 
Still, given the central role that real estate and the private sector play in China’s debt challenge, moves by the Chinese government to curb property market speculation should be welcomed. Similarly, tighter rules on wealth management products also make good sense, such as limiting the involvement of smaller banks that have less capital to offset potential losses.
James Laurenceson is deputy director and professor, Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI), University of Technology Sydney and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-laurenceson-203" target="_blank">here</a>.
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